Which EU Country Is The Greenest? [Infographic]
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Solar Power In The EU Infographic Explained
The map above shows each EU country's size relative to the amount of electricity it produces from solar power. The numbers are based on PV (Photovoltaic) electricity production in watts per capita in 2011.
Germany is the clear leader both in total production and production per capita. Total production in the EU was 44.8 TWh based 51.4 GW installed capacity. This is enough to power at least 10 million homes.
The full rankings:
| EU Solar PV per capita in 2011 | ||
|---|---|---|
| # | Country | W/capita |
| 1 |  Germany |
304.3 |
| 2 |  Italy |
210.5 |
| 3 |  Czech Republic |
186.0 |
| 4 |  Belgium |
165.5 |
| 5 |  Spain |
91.3 |
| 6 |  Slovakia |
89.8 |
| 7 |  Luxembourg |
59.9 |
| 8 |  Greece |
55.8 |
| 9 |  Slovenia |
44.1 |
| 10 |  France |
43.5 |
| 11 |  Malta |
27.4 |
| 12 |  Austria |
20.7 |
| 13 |  Bulgaria |
17.7 |
| 14 |  United Kingdom |
16.2 |
| 15 |  Portugal |
13.5 |
| 16 |  Cyprus |
12.5 |
| 17 |  Netherlands |
7.1 |
| 18 |  Denmark |
3.0 |
| 19 |  Finland |
2.1 |
| 20 |  Sweden |
2.0 |
| 21 |  Latvia |
0.7 |
| 22 |  Hungary |
0.4 |
| 23 |  Ireland |
0.2 |
| 24 |  Romania |
0.1 |
| 25 |  Estonia |
0.1 |
| 26 |  Poland |
0.0 |
| 27 |  Lithuania |
0.0 |
| EU27 Average | 102.2 | |
As you can see, solar PV generation is currently concentrated in only a few EU countries. The EU27 average of 102.2 W/capita is skewed by Germany, Italy, Czech Republic and Belgium. The remaining 23 EU countries all produce well below average. The UK ranks a disappointing 14th, behind a much poorer Bulgaria.
Numbers for 2012 are not yet available, but should be interesting. Germany managed to hit a one day record of generating 50% of its electricity from solar. However, the results in the UK was a bit more mixed.
The start of 2012 saw a huge spike in PV installations while the Feed-In Tariff (FiT) remained at 43.3p/kWh. This was followed by a dramatic decrease in installations following the FiT cut to 16p/kWh in August.
Currently, the FiT in the UK pays up to at 4.39p/kWh (tax free). This means a homeowner with a 4kw PV solar panel system can still earn and save up to £404 a year. To learn more about how you can benefit from solar, please talk to one of our Eco Experts by either filling in the form above or giving us a call at: 0207 424 3132.
